Why Cain killed Abel
Cain despised Abel
Cain was so angry that God rejected his offering
Yet, God was pleased with Abel’s offering
Abel honored what the Lord wanted
Abel gave the Lord what He asked for with a willing heart
Cain decided what he wanted to give God
It was not what God asked for
Had he done what God asked,
his offering would have been accepted
This is a stark reminder that the commandments that Jesus gave us
are valuable to Him, they also should be of value to us
since they are what He asks of us and not only asks of us, but requires of us
So many talk of Salvation as a free gift but it is not without dedication,
without heart and soul sold out to the Lord
The Kingdom of Heaven is a great treasure, if we take it lightly,
that is, if we treat Jesus as He has little to no value,
we risk letting the Kingdom of Heaven become of little importance to us
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Genesis 4:5-6
Maybe Cain didn’t want to kill an animal
If that were the case and he would have been honest about it
before the Lord, God would have provided a way for him
to offer what God asked
Whether his brother or father might’ve helped him
or God would have given him the strength and courage to do
what he didn’t want to do
But for him to decide he wanted to do what he wanted to do
instead of honoring God’s requirement did not fly with God
There are many requirements that God has given us
People like to pick and choose which ones they want to honor
They like to choose how they want to honor God
But God is very specific about what He asks of us
Jesus gave us many commands while He walked on Earth
Jesus taught us to love others, even our enemies
He taught us to help the poor
To not turn away those who ask of us
To be like the Samaritan who loved his neighbor and care for the wounded
People like to do things their own way
They like to decide what they want to do for God
They want to give God what they want to give Him
instead of what He asks for
Ye are My friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. John 15:14
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,
seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price,
went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:44
Honor what God asks, what is required
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:
I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3: 15-16
That is pretty clear that Jesus expects us to value Him
and the Kingdom of Heaven,
He expects us to hate the world,
for us to put Him first,
for us to carry our crosses,
for us to give up all
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath,
he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33
Scriptural References:
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15
He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me:
and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 10:37
And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 9:23